The Application of Mechanism Theory to a Textile Machinery Innovation

Abstract

The design of mechanisms for use in practical machinery applications is often of a trial-and-error nature based on traditional practice. Much emphasis has been given to the theory of mechanisms in recent years but this has yet to find wide practical application. This paper is a case study of how a basic idea, conceived by University-based inventors and intended to improve a slow method of making a textile pile fabric, became a reality in the form of a completely new type of high-speed textile machine for making an improved textile product, all within a time scale of four years. It also shows how recent University researches are further advancing its potential from both the machinery manufacturing and textile technology aspects. Step-by-step from the early experimental stages, it illustrates how the challenges of developing the novel mechanisms required for this unconventional machine and process were met by combining practical experience of traditional machinery design with theoretical investigations based on the new techniques of mechanism analysis and synthesis.